Harvard business case analysis methods and applications
Appex Corporation has experienced hyper growth as a result of favorable market dynamics in the management information systems and intercarrier network services industry for cellular telephone companies. The company founder and CEO, Brain Boyle, who was primarily a technologist, was not prepared or trained for the many leadership and organizational challenges the company's explosive growth would present. As company culture will often reflect structure over time, the continual lack of focus on these factors can eventually lead to a chaotic condition within many businesses (Morgan, et.al.).
The lack of structure was also leading to critically important business processes also breaking down and not working correctly. As the case's short vignettes illustrate, customer service workers would start the day with a vigorous game of basketball for two hours then come to work at 10am. Only after the CFO of a leading customer came in at 8am to meet with service did this situation get resolved. This story shows that there is a lack of purpose in the roles of service at the time. Lack of leadership and the ability to infuse work with meaning leads to lost productivity and lack of focus as well (Wheatley, 122 - 123).
The continued lack of focus on roles and responsibilities due to the non-existent structure began to manifest itself in many other areas of the business as well. These are all symptoms of systemic structural problems in the core operations of the business. Lack of follow-through with customers, missed delivery times and installation dates, and a complete lack of financial planning all signal a structural breakdown in the business. While competitors in this industry worried about having an agile and flexible enough organizational structure to stay in step with rapidly changing market conditions and customer demand, Appex was just trying to get the basics of being a business completed.
The experimentations by Shikhar Ghosh did little to solve the problems, with the circular structure initially implemented doing little to solve the complex structural and performance problems of the company. The circular model, ironically meant to create egalitarianism, only created division and discord. The hierarchical functional structure created silos that often did not speak with each other, eventually leading to a reduction in innovation and cross-pollination of ideas. Enterprises that have a very high level of innovative thought and action typically are very well attuned to each department's information needs, wants, preferences and most importantly, strengths (Morgan, 235). This had also broken down in Appex, further multiplying the many coordination, communication, collaboration and leadership challenges throughout the company. Ironically only after Appex adopts a divisional structure does it return to a level of performance that can sustain its existence as a business.